Happy Birthday Donna

In the spirit of birthdays I am taking the opportunity to honor our oldest daughter. I'm withholding all dates for fear of retaliation. Not that my life would be in danger, but I got into enough trouble when I inadvertently talked about JoAnn's weight. I do struggle with learning. But, this is about Donna - our oldest daughter and as we like to say our most favorite oldest daughter. I thought we (Mom is helping me) would share some little known facts about our daughter.

• She was born in Ventura, California and is a 5th generation California native. Not many of those around.
• She was the first grandchild on her father's side and the 3rd on her mother's side.
• Like a true McLean she made her first trip when she was a mere 2 months old to visit her paternal grandparents and great-grandparents in Tucson, AZ. It was a wonderful adventure.
• She left California shortly after her 2nd birthday and became a midwesterner, after a short 2-year hiatus in Provo, UT.
• She has lived in Ventura, CA, Lawton, OK, Provo, UT, Manhattan, KS, Ames, IA, and Cedar Rapids, IA as a child and teenager.
• She started kindergarten in Manhattan, KS and finished high school at Kennedy HS, in Cedar Rapids, IA.
• She lost her first tooth on a road trip while biting into an apple and without dad in the car. It was a July 4th weekend and Mom and the 3 girls were driving to Missouri to meet Dad who was coming home from Ft. Belvoir, Va.
• She was an awesome big sister to her 2 brothers and 4 sisters, but then I have forgotten a lot as I've gotten older. We relied on her for all kinds of wonderful child support. When our last daughter was born she was almost more Donna's than our's since she did such a wonderful job with her.

I could go on, but this is enough embarrassment for one year. We love her and she is a wonderful daughter who cares about people and family. Happy birthday oldest daughter.